


A Midsummer Night's Mission

by Diana Williams (dkwilliams)



Category: Eroica Yori Ai o Komete | From Eroica with Love
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 17:12:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1096463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/pseuds/Diana%20Williams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Major Klaus von dem Eberbach and his Alphabet are called in to investigate the disappearance of one of the agents - and his reappearance in a cult.  Dorian Red, the Earl of Gloria - better known to them as the thief, Eroica, is called in to help with the investigation.  But will the cost be too high?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Midsummer Night's Mission

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Evandar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evandar/gifts).



Dorian Red, the Earl of Gloria, breezed into the hotel St. Merci and flung his coat onto a chair.  “Darling! I thought you’d never call!  And what a funny little town to meet up in.”

Klaus looked up briefly from the folder he was perusing.  “Stop that idiotic babbling, you pervert, and sit down.  You’re late for the briefing.”

Dorian fluffed his tousled hair, sadly crushed from the journey, and settled into an empty chair at the conference table.  “So what’s the job?  Top secret plans locked in a complex safe?  Microchip attached to a priceless work of art in a secure museum?”

"Infiltrate a degenerate cult."

Dorian paused in the process of reaching for a glass of water and frowned.  “You want me to do what?”

Klaus closed the folder and sat back.  “Agent M was in the area to receive some microfilm from another agent deep under cover.  As far as we know, he kept the meeting, but he never returned to headquarters.  We thought that perhaps the KGB had followed the other agent and Agent M was compromised or killed, but he checked into this hotel.”

“And the cult?”

“A man by the name of Rene Beldame has set up in the meadow by the woods,” Agent A said.  “During the day they run a little fair, do circus tricks and amusements.  And at night – “

“Carousing, drinking, and dancing,” Klaus said darkly.  “And no doubt worse.”

“Agent M checked out of here and joined them,” Agent A continued.  “We tried to talk to him but he is always surrounded by the others.”

“We thought you might have more success,” Agent Z volunteered, then lapsed into silence after a nervous look over at Klaus.

“Why?”

“Because they are all like you,” Klaus said shortly.  “Homosexuals.”

“And was Agent M…?”

“No!”  Klaus snapped.  “He was a good man, an exemplary NATO operative for almost ten years.”

“One doesn’t necessarily negate the other,” Dorian murmured, giving Klaus an amused look from under his eyelashes.

“They have brainwashed him, or drugged him, or something,” Klaus said impatiently.  “I need you to talk to him, find out if he needs to be extracted.”

“And retrieve the microfilm?” Dorian asked.

“What?”  Klaus frowned, then recalled the original mission and growled, “Of course retrieve the microfilm, idiot!”

“And you want me to do this alone?  What if they try to drug or brainwash _me_?  Don’t you think it would be a good idea to send one of your agents with me?  Say – Z?”

“No!” Klaus said sharply.  “Agents N through T will be shadowing you and watching for trouble.  A will take C through L back to Bonn tonight and attempt to find out more about this Beldame character  The rest will be with me, questioning the people in the village about this cult.”

“Very well,” Dorian said.  He opened the folder and studied the picture of the missing agent.  “What is Agent M’s real name?”

Klaus bristled.  “Why do you need to know that?”

Dorian rolled his eyes.  “I can hardly go up to him and call him ‘Agent M’, can I?”

“All right,” Klaus said, grudgingly.  “Johann Mueller.”

“And if he is with Beldame of his own free will?  Should I knock him out and bring him out any ways?”

Klaus scowled.  “Ja.  He knows too much to be allowed to go off without debriefing.”  Gruffly, he added, “If he wishes to stay with this cult afterwards, that is his own concern.”

“Well, sounds like I have a full day ahead of me,” Dorian said, rising from his chair.  “I had better get my beauty sleep.”

“You don't need that,” Klaus said, then realized how it might sound.  “We have plans to make,” he said hastily. 

“So make your plans, and I will see you tomorrow, after a late brunch,” Dorian said airily, turning towards the door and scooping up his coat as he went.  “Sleep well, Major.”

Klaus growled and turned back to his agents who hastily turned their attention back to their work.

 

* * *

Klaus was up early the next morning, following his usual schedule.  He deliberately routed his jogging path near the meadow where the encampment was set up.  There was no sight of anyone stirring, and as the summer breeze made the colorful pennants flutter, Klaus muttered under his breath about degenerates who caroused all night and slept away the morning.  

He returned to the hotel to shower and dress, and was joined in the dining room by his agents who were used to his early schedule.  He was surprised when Dorian joined them just as they were finishing – he had not expected the thief to show his face until closer to lunch.  He sent the Alphabets ahead while he took a few minutes to go over the plans again with Dorian before he joined them.

The town of St. Merci wasn’t large and it only took a few hours for them to talk to most of its inhabitants.  The townspeople were reluctant to talk to them, eyeing them warily and providing short answers to their questions.  Yes, they had seen the fair folk in the meadow.  No, they didn’t know where they had come from; one morning they had just been there.  Yes, some of them had been to the fair.  No, they hadn’t seen anyone unusual hanging about with the fair people, not anyone with an unusual accent – just the usual American tourists and young people from the surrounding villages.  When asked if any of their young men had joined the fair people, several doors had been shut in their faces - which was an answer in itself.

By the time they returned to the hotel, feeling a bit discouraged by the lack of information, Klaus could see that the fair had come to life down in the meadow.  The brightly colored flags and banners were flapping in the breeze, along with the usual scents of grilled food and spun sugar.  Strains of music drifted up into the town, accompanied by the sound of laughter and singing.  Klaus thought that he could hear one particular laugh among the rest and scowled. A quick check of the thief’s room verified that he was gone, and Klaus’ scowl deepened.  The Alphabets took one look at him and scattered to their rooms to write up their reports.

Deciding that hunger was behind his irritable mood, Klaus made his way to the dining room and ordered an early dinner of meat and potatoes, then began going over his own notes. 

 

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Dorian returned to the hotel, carrying the scents of the meadow and the fair with him, as well as a few tawdry souvenirs.  He tossed the microfilm container onto the table and collapsed into one of the chairs.

“Mission successful, Major,” Dorian announced.  “Your Agent M was more than happy to hand it over.  He has renounced the spy business and plans to join the fair.”  He made a face.  “Although he might want to reconsider; the man can’t dance or carry a tune.”

“Idiot!  You were supposed to convince him to leave!”

“That might not be easy, Major, but not because anyone there is stopping him.  He seems, well, _happy_.”

“Because they’ve drugged or brainwashed him,” Klaus said sharply.  “Or they are coercing him to remain.”

Dorian shook his head.  “I didn’t see any sign of drugs, and M seemed free to go where he pleased.  And their leader is quite delightful.”

“You met Beldame?”

Dorian nodded his head vigorously.  “He approached me while I was walking around the fairgrounds and we talked for nearly an hour.”

Klaus snorted.  “Another empty-headed pretty boy, no doubt, like that gang you surround yourself with.”

“Actually, he seemed very intelligent,” Dorian retorted.  “And I wouldn’t call him ‘pretty’.  He was attractive, yes, but more than that, he was interesting.  Mesmerizing.”  He stood up, covering a yawn with his hand.  “I am going back tomorrow afternoon, to talk to Rene _and_ your agent, but right now I am going to bed.  I am rather tired.”

Klaus scowled as he watched Dorian walk out of the room.  Something about the thief’s attitude bothered him – more than it usually did.

“Agent G, take the Alphabets except B and Z to the surrounding villages tomorrow, ask the same questions we asked here today.  B, Z, you’re with me; we will go back to the people who we didn’t talk to today, make sure we haven’t missed anything.”

 

* * *

Questioning the remaining villagers turned up nothing of value, but when Agent Z returned that afternoon, he brought with him an old woman.

“Sir!” Agent Z said excitedly.  “I found someone who knows all about these fair people.  This is Madam Jeanne Lindt, from the village of Marcene on the other side of the meadow.”  He turned to the old woman.  “Madam Lindt, this is Major Klaus von dem Eberbach, my superior.”

Klaus gestured toward a comfortable arm chair.  “Would you like a seat, Madam Lindt?”

“Very kind of you, Major,” she said, her voice strong despite her age.  She took a few minutes to get settled  comfortably, then looked up at Klaus, her expression serious.  “You wish to know more about the people of the meadow?”

“Yes, if you would.  I have reason to suspect that they are not the simple traveling fair workers that they appear to be.”

“The Fair Folk are very dangerous,” Madam Lindt said gravely.  “A beautiful face can hide the most evil of souls.”

“How long have they been operating in this area?”

“Oh, for as long as mortals have dwelt in this area, there have always been evil beings to prey upon them,” she said.

Klaus scowled; this was no time to philosophize about the nature of evil.  “This particular type of evil – you have seen them here before.”

Madame Lindt nodded.  “This isn’t the first time they’ve come.”

“Their leader?  Beldame?  He’s been here before.”

She shook her head.  “Fifty years ago, it was a woman.  A beautiful woman who stole the hearts out of our young men.  Mine, too, although I won him back.  Fifty years before that, there were stories of a man who seduced all the young maids in the area, took them with him when he went.”

“Went where?” Klaus asked.  Could this possibly be a human trafficking operation?  If so, why wait fifty years between visits?  That seemed cautious in the extreme – and could any operation like that run for a hundred years.

“Back into the forest and under the hill,” the woman said.  “Back to their world, that of the faerie folk.”

Klaus frowned, wondering if he had heard that wrong.  “The fair people, you mean?  They go back to their country and take the young people as slaves?”

“Some, perhaps, but most become their husbands and wives,” she said.  “The Fair Folk can’t bear children, you know.  They have to steal them out of cradles or get them on mortals.  When the mortals age beyond bearing, then they come back here for more.  But none of the ones they take ever come home.”

“Nonsense!” Klaus snapped.  “There is no such thing as – as fairies.  They drug the young people, then smuggle them out of the country and sell them.  That’s why they don’t come home.”

The woman turned her eyes towards him and the toothless smile she gave him was full of assurance.  “If that is what you wish to believe, Major.”  She looked down toward the meadow.  “They will be gone tomorrow, after Midsummer Day has ended, and you will not see them again.”

A disquieting feeling came over Klaus, and he had a sudden urge to find Eroica, to make sure that he was fine.  He turned on his heel and headed toward the hotel, ignoring Agent Z’s stammered thanks to the group of women. 

 

* * *

 

Klaus was waiting when Dorian returned to the hotel late that afternoon, and the dreamy smile on his face didn’t bode well. 

“Well?” he demanded.  “Did you learn anything of importance?”

“Mmm.” Dorian sighed contentedly.  “Quite a lot.  Rene is quite interesting and cultured.  His thoughts on Art and Beauty are so far beyond what I expected – “

“Not your pansy artistic crap,” Klaus snapped.  “What is this Beldame up to?  Espionage?  Drugs?  Human trafficking?”

“None of those!” Dorian said indignantly.  “He just wants to live a life of beauty and tranquility, and to share that with others.”

 “Hah!” Klaus snorted.  “This Rene Beldame is not the man you think he is.”

“Really?  Have you found out anything about him?” Dorian demanded.  “Anything substantial, not just rumors and innuendo?”  Klaus didn’t reply.  “Ha!  I didn’t think so.”

“Now _you_ sound brain-washed,” Klaus snapped. 

“ _You_ were the one who wanted me to infiltrate the ‘cult’!” Dorian fired back. 

“The cult, yes, but not the man’s bed!”  Klaus shouted. 

Dorian drew himself up, eyes flashing.  “You’re just jealous!  You can’t handle the fact that I might have fallen for someone else!”

Klaus refused to acknowledge the sinking feeling that flooded him at those words, concentrating on the rage that followed in its wake.  “So much for your protestations that I was the only one you loved!”

A hurt look came into Dorian’s eyes.  “I have given up that dream.  You don’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me, either!”

“So you’re willing to be one of his harem?  You’re an idiot!”

“Well, if that’s the way you feel, I won’t inflict my presence on you any further!” Dorian snapped, then turned on his heel and stormed toward the door. 

“Where are you going?” Klaus demanded.  “We are in the middle of a mission!”

“Finish it yourself!” Dorian retorted and slammed the door behind him.

 

* * *

His sense of unease lingered throughout the afternoon and into the evening, especially when Dorian didn’t return to the hotel as night fell.  Klaus went over their argument in his mind – certainly not the worst they’d ever had – and some of the things Dorian had said deepened the sense of wrongness.  Was the thief just being his usual perverse self?  Was he drugged?  Or was there something to what the old woman had said?

Klaus wasn’t a fanciful man, not given to believing in fairy tales and such nonsense, even as a child.  However, there had been something…odd about the situation from the start.  Agent M was one of the brighter of his Alphabet (not that that said much) and wasn’t the sort to get caught by a cult or criminal organization.  Dorian might be perverted and fanciful, but he was usually too shrewd to get caught in a trap.  Then there were all those slammed doors in the village, the young people who fallen under this trickster Beldame’s spell. 

And what about all the young people who had disappeared fifty years ago?  Agent A had reported to him that evening that eleven young men had disappeared at the time, never to reappear, just as Madam Lindt had said, And although many of the records from a hundred years ago had been destroyed during the wars, there were still enough scraps left to confirm that a number of women had disappeared at the time.  What if the old lady was right?  What if Eroica was under a spell, not acting of his own volition?

Before he could think change his mind, giving into rationality, he left his room and pounded on the door to Agent Z’s room.  The agent looked surprised and unnerved to see him standing outside, but before the man could stammer more than a few words, Klaus interrupted.

“The woman you brought to see me: where does she live?”

“Just across the valley…” Z began.

“Take me to her,” Klaus ordered, striding toward the elevators.  When Z didn’t immediately follow, he turned back and bellowed, “Now, Idiot!  Schnell!”

Z grabbed his keys, running for the car park.

 

* * *

The old woman didn’t seem surprised to see Klaus standing outside her door and stood aside for them to enter. 

“You have more questions, Major?” she asked as she gestured for them to be seated. 

“You said you freed your man from these people,” Klaus said shortly.  “How?”

Madam Lindt eyed him shrewdly.  “You have someone who has fallen under the spell of the Fair Folk?”

“Just answer the question,” he barked.  “How did you free your husband?”

“There are three steps you must follow to free the ensnared person,” she said after a moment.  “First, though, you have to pull the person away from the Fair Folk.  Under no circumstance must you allow anyone to interfere as you perform these steps.”

“I understand,” Klaus said shortly, his pen poised to make notes.  “What are the three steps?”

“First, you must strip off their outer clothing, turn it inside out, and redress them.  Second, you must make them eat a morsel of mortal food, preferably made by your own hands.  Third, you must make them drink a cup of pure water, water that you bring with you and keep safe from the enchantments of the Fae.  Once you have done these things, the enchantment will be broken.  Then take him by the hand and lead him before the Lord or Lady of the Fae who cast the enchantment, state your claim, and lead him away.”

Klaus frowned at the words he had jotted down.  “Are you certain?”

“Yes,” she said simply.  “However, you must be certain before you begin and never falter, else your own life and soul will be lost as well.”

Klaus frowned.  “I see.  Thank you.”  He rose and made his way to the door, then turned back when she called his name.

“It would also be wise to…keep your young man occupied until the morning, just to be safe,” Madam Lindt added.  “And it must be done tonight, before midnight.  Once Midsummer is past, it will be too late.”

 

* * *

 

The Alphabets sat in silence as the Major instructed them about their part in the night’s action.  “Are you – quite certain, sir?” Agent K asked timidly.  “I don’t quite understand about the – the stripping of clothes and the food and drink.”

Klaus waved his hand impatiently.  “Obviously, the food and drink are to dilute the effect of the drugs.  And the clothing is a distraction.”  He looked around at the Alphabet.  “Whichever of you chooses to act for Agent M, you must be absolutely steadfast and allow no distractions.  Is this understood?”

They all looked around at each other, then Agent G stood up.  “I’ll do it, sir.”

Klaus nodded briskly.  “The rest of you be ready to guard our retreat once we have secured M and Eroica.  You will also need to watch the entrances and exits to the hotel until morning, in case they try to recover their prey.”

 

Klaus led the way to the meadow.  The fair had been shut down to the general public for the evening, but the tents they were living in were bright with lights, and laughter rang through the night.  Klaus gestured for the men to split up to look for their quarry, but he knew damned well where to find Eroica and strode towards the largest tent.  From within, he heard the Earl of Gloria’s ringing laughter, and he paused for a moment, wondering how best to tempt the thief away from the rest.

Fortune smiled on him, for a moment later he heard Dorian make his excuses so he could use the facilities.  Klaus gestured for the Alphabets to move away, and blended into the shadows as Dorian threw back the curtained doorway and stepped out into the night.  He followed the man to the nearby latrine and then, as Dorian started back toward Beldame’s tent, he struck.

Swiftly, he grabbed Dorian around the waist and clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from yelling.  Dorian struggled against his abductor, kicking and flailing his elbows, but Klaus was determined.  He dragged him into the shadows and then hissed into his ear, “Hold still, you damned idiot!  It’s me!”

Dorian went still and, after Klaus cautiously released him, turned in his arms.  “Major?  What are you doing?”

“Quiet, you damned idiot,” he growled, then quickly began unbuttoning Dorian’s shirt.  He heard a quick intake of breath from the thief.

“Klaus?” Dorian breathed, his voice expressing a nearly extinguished hope.

“Shut up,” Klaus muttered, starting work on Dorian’s trousers.

“But – “

Klaus growled and grabbed Dorian’s face in both his hands, kissing him fiercely to silence him.  He felt the moment of surprise, and then the thief melted in his arms.  When he went back to his task of removing Dorian’s clothes, a second pair of hands joined in, quickly stripping off the thief’s clothing.

To his surprise, once the shirt and pants were shed, Dorian dropped to his knees and began unfastening Klaus’s own trousers.  Klaus let out a startled yelp as his cock was suddenly exposed to the air and, just as suddenly, enveloped in a warm and wet mouth.  He was suddenly and painfully hard, aware that it had been a very long time since he had last pleasured himself and that he wouldn’t last very long.  More than that, he wanted very desperately to come inside that warm and talented mouth - and he did, with a groan that he did his best to muffle against his wrist.

Dorian didn’t seem to mind, making a delighted sound as he swallowed every drop.  With what little remained of his rational thinking processes at the moment, Klaus wryly reflected that this at least took care of the food and drink problem. 

Dorian rose to his feet, wiping his hand across his mouth, his eyes bright with happiness.  “Klaus, darling,” he murmured, and leaned in for a kiss. 

Klaus had always thought that kissing someone who had done _that_ to him would be disgusting, but in actual fact it was quite interesting to taste himself in another's mouth.  Only the thought that midnight was closing in on them made him reluctantly draw away.  He found the clothes that he’d removed from Dorian, turned them inside out, and then began redressing him.

Dorian laughed, distracting him by running his hands over him and trying to steal more kisses. 

“Not here,” Klaus growled, trying to get him to pull his trousers back on.

“Quite right,” Dorian said cheerfully as he started to cooperate.  “Much better back at the hotel, with a bed.” 

He started towards the fair entrance but Klaus grabbed his arm and pulled him back.  “Shouldn’t we take leave of your host?” Klaus asked.

Dorian narrowed his eyes at Klaus.  “What are you up to, Major?”

Klaus didn’t reply, just took Dorian’s hand in his and led him towards the main tent.  Dorian seemed so shocked by the action that he mutely followed in his wake. 

Klaus thrust back the curtains and entered, looking around at the assembled crowd, all of them looking at both him and Dorian in surprise.  All of them were quite amazingly attractive, and the man who sat in their midst was so incredibly handsome, radiating power and charisma, that Klaus’s heart sank for a moment at the ridiculous thought that Dorian would choose him over any of these others.  He glanced sideways at Dorian, only to find that the Earl was staring at him and smiling, seemingly unaware of anyone else in the room.

“This man belongs to me,” Klaus said to Beldame.  “We will be taking our leave now.”

“If you are quite certain,” Rene Beldame replied, and his voice flowed through Klaus’s ears and mind like honey over warm toast.  "You are both more than welcome to stay."

He firmed his resolve, tightened his grip on Dorian’s hand, and said, “I am certain.  Come, Dorian.”

Outside the fair entrance, he found that the Alphabet had been successful in their mission.  Agent G was quite firmly clutching M’s hand, while the man looked dazed and confused, as if just awakening from a deep sleep.

“Back to the hotel,”  Klaus ordered.  Half of his men went ahead of them, making sure that the way was secure, while the other half followed behind to guard their retreat.

Dorian made a half-hearted attempt to free his hand from Klaus’s grip, murmuring, “Your men will see.”  He gave up when Klaus just tightened his grip, following with a meekness that Klaus distrusted.  He resolved that he would keep a watchful eye on the thief all night, just to prevent him from running back to Beldame and his degenerate cult of followers.  A second thought followed, that it would be best to remove all of the thief’s clothing as well, as a precaution against escape.

He carefully didn’t look into his motives for either, but his heart and body felt lighter than it had in years.

 

* * *

 

When the first light of morning lit up the Earl of Gloria's hotel room, Klaus carefully eased himself out from under the sleeping thief’s bare arm.  He shrugged into the robe provided by the hotel, since his own was in the room two doors down, and went to perch by the open window for his first cigarette of the day. 

His eyes automatically sought out the meadow, and he was not surprised to see that no sign of the fair or the people who worked it remained.  The ground was bare of tents and games, with just the usual litter strewn about on the ground. 

He muttered under his breath, “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” and resolved to have his Alphabets check to see how many of the locals had gone missing.  They would get pictures to the authorities, have all the borders and ports alerted, and watch for information on human trafficking nearby.  Then he pinched out his cigarette, drew the drapes against the sunlight, shed the robe, and slipped back into bed.

 

* * *

In the meadow, the first warm breezes of a summer morning stirred the plastic cups and discarded paper scattered on the ground.  It caught a faint sound from the woods, the tinkling of silver bells and golden laughter.  It whispered with light, unearthly footsteps and the heavier tread of mortal feet.  And then there was the sound of a door closing, deep in the woods and under the hills, and all was silence again.

 

The End


End file.
